1918-07 - Crane falls into canal at Williamsport

Big Crane Fall Into C. & O. Canal Crushing Wharf Without warning the big traveling crane on the C. & O. Canal wharf of Steffey & Findlay, at Williamsport, toppled over and fell into the canal Friday afternoon and several men narrowly escaped being badly hurt. The crane, which weighs about thirty tons, was being used to load iron on a car from a boat. The boom was in the opposite direction from the canal when the crane began to sway in the other direction and as it went over the ponderous weight of the machine crushed the wharf carrying part of the stone wall into the canal. John A. Conley, who was guiding the boom and arranging the hooks, was struck on the side of the head when the crane went over, but he was not seriously hurt. The obstruction did not interfere with the passage of boats. The W. M. wrecking crane from Hagerstown was used to hoist the crane from the canal and replace it on the tracks.

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

Big Crane Fall Into C. & O. Canal Crushing Wharf Without warning the big traveling crane on the C. & O. Canal wharf of Steffey & Findlay, at Williamsport, toppled over and fell into the canal Friday afternoon and several men narrowly escaped being badly hurt. The crane, which weighs about thirty tons, was being used to load iron on a car from a boat. The boom was in the opposite direction from the canal when the crane began to sway in the other direction and as it went over the ponderous weight of the machine crushed the wharf carrying part of the stone wall into the canal. John A. Conley, who was guiding the boom and arranging the hooks, was struck on the side of the head when the crane went over, but he was not seriously hurt. The obstruction did not interfere with the passage of boats. The W. M. wrecking crane from Hagerstown was used to hoist the crane from the canal and replace it on the tracks.